When Prince William and Kate Middleton return from their honeymoon they should focus their attentions on charities for children, war veterans and social welfare, a new poll has found.

Almost half of the British public think the royal couple should concentrate their philanthropic efforts on children and young people while one in three think it is important they should offer to help war veterans and the armed forces, according to the survey.

The data, collected by research company nfpSynergy, found 27% of people thought William and Kate should direct their charitable efforts to homelessness and social welfare.

William has already pledged support to a number of charities and Miss Middleton is said to be carefully selecting the charities she will support once she becomes a fully-fledged member of the royal family.

The pair decided to set up a charitable gift fund as an alternative to receiving gifts for their wedding.

They selected 26 charities and good causes to which people can donate.

A temporary website has been established to handle the financial gifts that will benefit a range of organisations from Combat Stress and Beatbullying to the Irish Guards Appeal and the New Zealand government's Christchurch Earthquake Appeal.

Of 1,000 people questioned, one in three believes charity support is a key royal function, trailing only to representing the country and "attracting tourists".

Almost half of those surveyed believe the Princess Royal is the hardest working royal charity supporter, followed by the Prince of Wales, Prince William and the Queen, respectively.

Joe Saxton, nfpSynergy's spokesman, said: "In this day and age, royals need to be seen to be working for charities just as much as charities need royal support."